Paris, France Family Adventure (Ep 17)

Our family explored Paris, France with our three kids. We stayed in a home we reserved on Home Exchange, and saw many of the popular Paris sights.

Our apartment in Paris was a short train ride away from the Eiffel Tower. We settled into the 4th story flat, and set off to explore the city. Of course, visiting a French bakery was high on our list. Here we picked out a few pastries at the cost of a few euros each. We were especially looking forward to seeing the Eiffel Tower in person. We got tickets at the base to go to the top viewing floor of this 1083 foot monument. We climbed up the 674 steps leading to the second floor, and then took an elevator to the top.
After our visit to the Eiffel Tower, we went to the Louvre. It felt fairly busy for a Thursday, but we enjoyed seeing the highlights.

Another day we took the Underground to the Palace of Versailles. This amazing chateau was developed over 50 years from 1661 to 1715 by King Louis XIV. It was a bit overwhelming to take in the immense size of the rooms and ornate details everywhere we looked. In the coronation room, immense paintings decorate the walls, including this early 1800s painting, showing the consecration of the Emperor Napoleon and the Coronation of Empress Josephine. Now a museum, the Palace of Versailles is owned by the French Republic and it's one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. I loved all the floral detailing and gold foil embellishments used in decorating. Outside the palace in the courtyard, we felt tiny next to the towering buildings. We found so many places to explore on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles.

We really enjoyed the open markets in Paris, where we often bought fruit and pastries. We learned that traveling in a busy foreign city can come with some surprises.

Before we left Paris, we visited Parc Floral de Paris, which had lots of playgrounds and fun gardens to walk through.

And of course, we couldn't leave Paris without visiting Banksy's Napoleon Crossing the Alps. Banksy is an anonymous graffiti artist who mysteriously leaves behind stencil street art in cities all around the world.

Next, we took the Eurostar through the tunnel under the English Channel back to London. We also celebrated Kiera's 11th birthday. Our family made some great memories with our kids while exploring Paris.